Arsenal v Newcastle – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Arsenal host Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in the FA Cup third round. The Gunners begin their defence of the trophy they lifted in July whilst Newcastle have gone over 50 years since lifting silverware in the form of the 1969 Fairs Cup.

Arsenal Form

Just two weeks ago, Arsenal were in a crisis and Mikel Arteta’s job was on the line. They was due to a run of one win in 10 in the Premier League, a faltering attack and a leaky defence. The side were in 15th place and being talked about as relegation material.

Since then, Arteta has turned things around by selecting more young players in his forward line. A convincing 3-1 win against Chelsea stopped the rot before a 1-0 away win at Brighton thanks to an Alexandre Lacazette goal. That was followed by a resounding 4-0 victory at West Brom. Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka and Lacazette (twice) were on target in that match.

Arsenal Team News

The injury and suspension carnage at the club has eased in recent weeks. Just Gabriel with COVID-10 and Thomas Partey are doubts for this match. Arteta is likely to rotate his side somewhat but they only play again on Thursday and the squad players are relatively match fit after their Europa League involvement this season.

David Luiz and Ainsley Maitland-Niles should play in defensive areas whilst Cedric Soares is also pushing for minutes. Willian and Pepe should be on the flanks and both Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah will be hoping to feature up front.

Arsenal Motivation

Arteta will desperately want to win and keep the momentum and confidence going, while he will hope for some underperforming fringe players to find some form and increase competition in the squad. Arsenal treated the FA Cup very seriously last year and the Spanish coach will want to make a good fist of trying to retain the cup. Arsenal are likely to attack and throw on extra attackers to try to win the match in 90 minutes and avoid extra time.

Newcastle Form

The Magpies are currently in some very poor form. Having won 2-0 at Crystal Palace in late November and then 2-1 at home to West Brom in December, the side sat in 12th spot on the table. Their recent form has them with just two points from five matches (D2, L3) and they now sit 15th, albeit eight points above relegation. Newcastle’s last two matches saw a resolute 0-0 draw with Liverpool and then a tame 2-1 home defeat to Leicester.

Newcastle Team News

Steve Bruce played very strong lineups in the FA Cup last season and is not expected to make a wrath of changes for this match. Martin Dubravka is back from injury and should get minutes in goal and both Jeff Hendrick and Jonjo Shelvey should play in midfield.

Andy Carroll scored against Leicester in the last match and will hope to start. Jamal Lewis, Ryan Fraser and Allan Saint-Maximin are expected to miss out but Jamaal Lascelles is very close to a return at the back.

Newcastle Motivation

The strength of Bruce’s lineups in the FA Cup last season suggests that he will hope to end the club’s half-century trophy drought. That means a fully motivated side in this cup and a determined approach as would be seen for a league match.

Therefore, expect a 5-4-1 shape in defence and inviting Arsenal onto them before using the speed they possess in Miguel Almiron and Joelinton to lead counter attacks in support of Andy Carroll or perhaps Dwight Gayle. Bruce will have no qualms going to extra time if required in order to win the tie.

Key Stats

Arsenal have lost 7 of their last 13 PL matches

Arsenal have won 3 PL matches in a row

Arsenal have kept consecutive clean sheets after 1 in 8 matches before that

Arsenal have failed to score in 6 of their last 13 PL matches

Arsenal have won 4 matches in a row against Newcastle

Newcastle are 6 matches without a win

Newcastle have failed to score in 3 of their last 4 matches

Newcastle have lost their last 3 away matches

Prediction

Arteta has a strong bench to call upon even if he rotates his side whilst Newcastle are out of form and struggling to score goals. A Gunners victory is a good bet.